The people of Mbeere North in Embu County will in four months know the fate of last November’s Parliamentary by elections that handed Leo wa Muthende victory on the United Democratic Alliance party ticket, after flooring United Opposition’s candidate Newton Karish with 494 votes.
The judgement will point out if Wa Muthende was eligible to vie even after a change of his name from Leonard Njeru to Leo Wa Muthende.
Embu High Court Judge Richard Mwongo, appointed by Chief Justice Martha Koome to hear two election petitions challenging Wamuthende’s victory in the November 27, 2025 polls, announced the court will deliver a judgment not later than May 21 this year.
One of the petitions has been filed by two voters Julieta Karigi Kithumbu and Patrick Gitonga Gichoni seeking nullification of the victory over discrepancies in the MP’s identity who they argue contested under two inconsistent names.
RETURNING OFFICER
The petitioners argue that Wamuthende appeared on election materials under a name not properly registered on voters roll.
Respondents in the petition are IEBC, MP Wa Muthende and Mbeere North Constituency returning officer John Mwii Kinyua.
The petitioners say failure to align the electoral roll, ballot papers and election materials with Wa Muthende’s legal identity was a breach of constitution and electoral requirements.
But the electoral agency wants the petition dismissed, maintaining that the by-elections were lawful and that discrepancies in the name were unavoidable and inconsequential.
This as the court, in response to an application by the petitioners seeking scrutiny of the materials used during the by-elections, ordered IEBC to surrender all materials including Kiems kits and ballots boxes bearing the votes cast for safe custody at the court to preserve integrity and transparency of the evidence.
PRE-TRIAL CONFERENCE
Justice Mwongo, during yesterday’s pre-trial conference, said the items will be entered in an inventory and put in a secure room under 24 hour armed police guard and that all the five parties will hold a key to the storage room but no access will be allowed unless in the presence of all of them.
The court directed matters of consolidation (including the two petitions) and procedural issues be handled by February 12 when further directions will be issued ahead of commencement of formal hearings on March 9, 2026.
MP Wa Muthende, through his lawyer Dr Adrian Kamotho Njenga, has maintained his victory was legitimate and vowed to defend the outcome.
He was declared the winner after garnering 15, 802 votes against Karish’ 15, 308 votes.
